I Have Returned To Hell

So yes, it's that part of the year again when we all put on the mouldy old uniforms and return to the never ending horror that school brings. It was horrible. I really hate that place.

So there I was, in the car with my dad and brother driving up to the gates when I noticed that there were now two driveways; one to the convent and one to what looks like a carpark sorta thing at the school. It was all covered with mud. Slippery mud. That I found it very difficult to walk on in my ugly new school shoes. (School shoes are always ugly. It's a fact of life.)

So I arrive in at reception and see the notice board that had the 5th year class lists. First good thing to happen-I'm with people I get along with. Bad thing, it's in the home ec room that's always locked and has no lockers in it. When we arrive in the classroom after what seems like an age we wonder where the hell are we supposed to put our books? Then we see what's on the desks. New journals.

Okay, so many of you might not be farmiliar with the 'journal situation' in my school I take this as my oppertunity to enlighten you. We normally have A4 blue journals. They are ugly and fall apart and are very obviously cheap, but we love them. They are very straightforward to use, they're not very heavy and, the best part, we get covers to go over them. Now, these covers are the key to the journal problem. they are loose fitting over the journal (man, it sounds like I'm describing some clothes or something) and you can fit notes and stuff into its sides. But you can also put pictures and drawings into the front of the journals to add your own personality to what is a very boring book. This is the problem. The teachers see this as grafitti (sp?). So now we have these tiny A5 notebooks that are hardback, even uglier than the old ones because they're covered with pictures of the school and they weigh a tonne. It's just so annoying. We've so many books this year, now they've added another brick.

That was one disappointment, but there are more to come my dear friends.

In walks my home ec teacher from last year. Everyone groans. This cannot be our form teacher. She is annoying, doesn't let us talk in form class and wears the most disgusting clothes. It's horrible. She gets us to move into alphabetical order so I'm basically under her nose and taken away from the one spot with a signal in the entire room! I almost died.

We then get our locker keys and are told that our lockers are in the first year corridor on the other side of the school. Why, we don't know-most lockers are in the assigned form classes-but ths year just had to be weird.

Then it's time for timetables. We are told to sit and sort it out in silence. A room filled with girls. As if. But we all got shot a look and she stops talking everytime we start so we soon shut up.
Tomorrow and Thursday look horrible. I've double Irish tomorrow. I like Irish, as a language, but as a subject it's just disgusting. And a double? Even worse.

We're then told to go to class. Without any books. This is the first year we have ever had to go to classes on the first day. Luckily it was a half day so only French, PE, Music and double Art. But still.

Rang Sile, you're not looking promising. Please improve. Please.

I can't wait for the weekend...

Epic Day Filled With Win!

Okay so today was an AMAZING day =)
It cheered me up so much after everything that's been happening in my life lately. It made me forget about school and shit like that and it felt so good to be surrounded by friends.
I just love the whole atmosphere associated with CTYI in general. Becoming friends the day before and it feeling like you've known them all your life and are closer than any friends you have back home. It's just such an amazing experience and feeling.
But anyway, back to today...
So the weather didn't look too promising but apart from a few sudden showers I think it held up alright. It was so good seeing everyone all together again (although there were some people missing). This year there were less divisions between the session 1 and 2ers due to the fact that some people did both this year. And the new Wolfie-made hoodies were amazing. I cannot believe I forgot I had ordered one. But I did and I got mine so Yuss!
Those crazy chicks who got over excited about Jamie's hair and Grattan's American-ness and us being CTYI nerd was quite terrifying. Really. But it was interesting. And the other afros around the place was pretty cool.
Good on Jamie for collecting so much for the ISPCC. It was a pretty cool idea when Lauren started it and I'm glad it's turning into a kinda tradition.
Invading the models picture with Karla and Maeve was cool. Less cool was the stink bomb being let off in the rock garden. But me and Laura did succeed in getting everyone to go there so I think that's pretty awesome.
I loved today. It was one of the best reunions ever. Thank you so much everyone! I love you all. CTYI...some of the best memories and people ever.

Freaky Stuff

okay, so I commented in my last blog entry about how it was kinda fitting that CtrlAltDel showed Zeke leaving on the day of my granddaddy's funeral. Well Cyanide and Happiness are in the middle of their Depressing Comic Week (3) and they are now talking all about death and mourning. I'm sorry but if anybody says that that isn't some sort of sign or something then I must be crazy

He's gone...

Well I guess this is finally it. He's gone. After a hectic summer of running around minding kids and grandparents, sorting out spats between the in-laws and making sure I don't go crazy with depression in the process;he's gone. The funeral was today. I've told so many people about what happened that I don't think saying anything much else would do it justice, but I'll try.
I find it oddly fitting that Zeke is leaving with Embela in CtrlAltDel while this is going on in my life. Like, in some cosmic way the whole world is subconsciously paying tribute to one of the greatest and kindest men I have ever known as he passes from this world to the next.
The most upsetting part, I found, was walking through the village behind the coffin on our way to the remove yesterday-all the family and close friends-and seeing that Brady's had closed and the owners were outside paying tribute to a great friend of theirs.
I wrote a poem. And read it when we were at the cremitorium. The front four rows, I know for sure, were filled with tears and tissues. Sorry for that!

The Man With the Smile

The man in the photographs

Over the tv

Never looked much like the granddad I knew.

My granddad was the man in the garden

Out back tending flowers

Of various hues.

He was the man in the chair

The big green chair

Sitting there reading the news.

He was the bringer of sweets

Rarely taken from their spot

Hidden from everyone's view.

He was the singer of songs

Of Dublin long gone

A Sean nos singer belting out his tune.

After a while he became the man in the bed

We watched him fade

But knew

That he would forever be

The man with the smile.

I did everything I was asked to over the last few weeks and especially the last few days. I wore what I was asked to, I made cup after cup of tea. Washed up, cleaned, hoovered, offered food, read at the funeral. I'm not complaining. It's family. It's what you do when it's needed.

But the amount of gossiping and bitching going on! It's crazy. There was a man dying in the front room upstairs all during the summer and his family spent their time getting at each other with snide remarks and comments. He was someone we all loved and they couldn't put aside their differences just to tend to him and my poor Granny who's left and lost now. They bickered and fought and complained when he didn't die at a convienent time for them. When minding him lost its novelty. When they wanted to return to their lives.

I'm not a saint. I can be as much of a bitch as any of them but I kept my mouth shut as much as I could while I was around family no matter what was being said to me or who it was. And I didn't go around crying, looking for attention. I might be a 'young wan', but sometimes I think I've more sense than the lot of them.

I'm sorry granddad, I didn't mean to moan about the family. It's just... not fair at all. A man like you, who was so good and kind and honest is gone. you were always the one with the quiet word, the gentle smile, the secret treat just because. You were the one who was interested in my accomplishments (when you could hear me telling you about them of course!) whether they were anything to do with sports or not. You were the type of person I wish that everyone could be.

You might have been older and had a bit more of an 'old school' mentallity, but you were great. Everyone who has ever met you knows what type of person you were and feels blessed to have met you.

You know I was never religious. You know I didn't fully believe as you did, but you, my good Sir, were a miricle. We were blessed to have you and I hope you're sharing a cuppa with the big man up there waiting on the rest of us to join you.

I love you Granddad. I'm heartbroken you're gone-we all are. But thank you so much for being here in the first place.

Just getting started really. Maybe this wasn't the greatest idea...

Hello people of the interweb!
Well, I've joined many different social networking sites. You name it I probably have a profile on it. And the thing is I find it incredibly sad. I mean, I spent 6 hours of my day on the internet with at least four tabs up. And why? Because I needed to check everything. NEEDED to. That's the thing that really got to me. This is what my social life has developed into... It's just kinda crazy...
I have three e-mail addresses. Yes, that's right, three. WHY, I have no idea, but I do. Remember when not everyone had a computer in their house and we all used our parents' work e-mail addresses whenever we wanted to go online? I really miss that.
So yeah, my life has been slowly becoming more and more controlled by my laptop. I'm convinced that this is how the world will end and robots will rule. They'll just send us masses of spam to go through and stuff and then we'll be so engrossed in the screens that we won't realise what's going on and before I know it BAM! we're slaves for life. Or at least until they run out of batteries.
So, yeah. I was told about this and decided to join. I put notches in my bedpost in accordance with how many times my name comes up when I Google it XD
So hi to blogger and I'll talk to you again soon ;]